Single-chip parallel processing

From WikiCover

A prototype of what may be the next generation of personal computers has been developed by researchers in the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering -- and you can name it. Capable of computing speeds 100 times faster than current desktops, the technology is based on parallel processing on a single chip.

Parallel processing is an approach that allows the computer to perform many different tasks simultaneously, a sharp contrast to the serial approach employed by conventional desktop computers. The prototype developed by Uzi Vishkin and his Clark School colleagues uses a circuit board about the size of a license plate on which they have mounted 64 parallel processors. To control those processors, they have developed the crucial parallel computer organization that allows the processors to work together and make programming practical and simple for software developers.

Parallel processing on a massive scale, based on interconnecting numerous chips, has been used for years to create supercomputers. However, its application to desktop systems has been a challenge because of severe programming complexities. The Clark School team found a way to use single chip parallel processing technology to change that.

The prototype device's physical hardware attributes are strikingly ordinary -- standard computer components executing at 75 MHz. It is the device's parallel architecture, ease of programming and processing performance relative to other computers with the same clock speed that get people's attention.

To increase awareness of his new technology, Vishkin is inviting the public to propose names for it. The name should reflect the features and bold aspirations of the new machine and its parallel computing capabilities. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize and be credited with the naming of the innovative technology. Submit your ideas online by September 15, 2007 at http://www.ece.umd.edu/supercomputer/